Bellator 108 results: 'Rampage' knocks out Beltran, Minakov takes title from Volkov

“I’m back!”

Those were the first words out of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s mouth after knocking out Joey Beltran with one second to go in the first round of Bellator 108’s headliner. The first words, of course, after his trademark howl.

The 210-pound catchweight fight capped off a main-card of four straight first-round TKOs at the event, which took place at Ovation Hall at Revel Atlantic City in Atlantic City, N.J. The event’s main card aired live on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.

After being stuffed against the cage by Beltran for much of the opening frame, Jackson found himself with space to work, and charged down his opponent with a flurry of wild hooks.

When Beltran ran out of space, Jackson found his chin with a left and right hook. Beltran collapsed to his knees, dazed, and another right hand forced referee Dan Miragliotta to wave off the bout at the 4:59 mark of the first.

Unsuccessful in wrestling the mic away from Bellator commentator Jimmy Smith, Jackson first sang the praises of Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney, who paid for a knee procedure he credited with bringing back the speed, strength and explosiveness of his early career.

Then, Jackson sang his own praises.

“I proved that I still got it,” he said. “If I can train hard, I can deliver hard. I’m back!”

Jackson (33-11 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) picked up his first stoppage win since knocking out Wanderlei Silva in a 2008 UFC bout and snapped a three-fight skid that preceded his exit from the industry-leader. UFC vet Beltran (14-10 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) is now 1-5 with a no-contest in his past six outings.

Minakov easily takes title from heavyweight champ Volkov

If Bellator 108’s co-main event was to determine Russia’s best heavyweight, Vitaly Minakov is the guy.

Minakov stunned his former training partner, Alexander Volkov, early in their title bout to earn a first-round TKO and take home the Bellator heavyweight championship.

An uppercut from Minakov sent Volkov to the canvas, and after a brief stint of punches overhead, referee Dan Miragliotta intervened at the 2:57 mark of the first frame.

Minakov, who extends his undefeated streak to 13 bouts, moves on to defend his title against Season 9 heavyweight tourney winner and UFC vet Cheick Kongo.

“He likes to knock out his opponents, and I like to knock out my opponents,” Minakov said afterward via translator. “We’ll see who does it better.”

The taller Volkov hoped to use his range to set up striking combinations, but Minakov (13-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) instantly pushed him into the cage and landed a series of hard elbows inside. A takedown followed, though a lack of action prompted a standup from Miragliotta.

Volkov (19-4 MMA, 3-1 BMMA), who before the fight declared that the fight’s winner would be Russia’s best, was circling away from Minakov when he was floored by an uppercut. Minakov was preparing to clear Volkov’s legs when the bout was waved off.

A 10-fight streak comes to an end for Volkov, who won the Season 7 heavyweight tournament to secure the promotion’s vacant title.

Galvao dominates McKenna in non-tourney action

Season 6 bantamweight tourney winner Marcos Galvao never gave Tom McKenna a chance.

Galvao repeatedly took down and punished McKenna before finishing him off with strikes late in the first round. The official time of stoppage came at the 4:29 mark of the frame.

The win put Galvao (15-6-1 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) back on track inside the Bellator cage after a knockout loss in February to his former training partner, Bellator champ Eduardo Dantas.

The Brazilian submission specialist closed distance on McKenna early with winging hooks and then suplexed the fighter to the mat. There, he quickly took mount and threatened with submissions. Because it was a non-tourney bout, Galvao utilized elbows to rough up his opponent.

McKenna rode out the storm and managed to find his feet, but he was quickly taken down again. More strikes followed, and the referee waved off the bout.

McKenna (7-3 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) has alternated wins and losses in his past six outings.

“Pitbull” takes home second Bellator tourney win

The power of Patricio “Pitbull” Freire once again was on display in the finals of the Season 9 featherweight tournament.

Early on, the Brazilian stung Justin Wilcox with heavy punches and continued to hammer away until the Strikeforce vet was overwhelmed. At the 2:23 mark of the opening round, referee Jason Herzog stepped in to wave off the fight, awarding Freire the TKO victory.

A left hand first hurt Wilcox, who soon after tried to take the fight to the ground. He was instantly intercepted by Freire, who rebuffed him with more punches.

An overhand right was the next strike to pay dividends for Freire, who forced Wilcox to turtle up. Wilcox attempted to scoot away to avoid more damage, but Freire stayed at his back and landed more punches until he was flattened out.

Freire (20-2 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) extends his current win streak to four after a split-call loss to then-champ Pat Curran, which followed his win of the Season 4 tournament. Wilcox (13-5 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) goes back to the drawing board after back-to-back wins in the quarter- and semifinals.

Bellator 108 complete results:

MAIN CARD

• Quinton Jackson def. Joey Beltran via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:59
• Vitaly Minakov def. Alexander Volkov via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:57
• Marcos Galvao def. Tom McKenna via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:29
• Patricio Freire def. Justin Wilcox via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:23

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Nah-Shon Burrell def. Dante Rivera via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Sam Oropeza def. Chip Moraza-Pollard via TKO – Round 1, 0:37
• Tom DeBlass def. Jason Lambert via KO – Round 1, 1:45
• Will Martinez def. Kevin Roddy via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:50
• Liam McGeary def. Najim Wali via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:31
• Anthony Morrison def. Kenny Foster via majority decision – (28-28, 29-27, 30-26)
• Dan Matala def. Ryan Cafaro via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:52
• Rob Sullivan def. Sergio da Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

For complete coverage of Bellator 108, stay tuned to the MMA Events section of the site.